Online entities offer a wide variety of electronic content and services to a variety of different devices, including personal computers (PCs), electronic book viewers, portable digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, pocket PCs, smart phones, televisions, set-top boxes, digital video recorders (DVRs), and gaming consoles. These devices often access various web pages and web services, such as those associated with online stores or other providers of audio/visual content, software programs, digital books, or other electronic content.
For example, high-resolution televisions, such as those incorporating LCD and plasma technologies, are now capable of connecting to the Internet and accessing electronic resources of a cloud computing network. Such resources, which include services that stream digital videos, services that stream output of electronic games, and services that provide access to stored digital images and videos, are particularly suited to the large-scale, high-resolution displays of modern LCD and plasma televisions. However, despite advances in display technology, such televisions are often controlled by related devices, such as remote controls that come with the television. Moreover, other devices are also often controlled by related devices that are included with, or provided as part of, the devices. For example, alarm systems and other household appliances do not provide users with the ability to control these devices separately from related controls either built-in to the devices or included with the devices.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods for controlling a device without being required to use a related device that is specific to the device being controlled.